Open City

A Nigerian-German psychiatrist wanders the streets of Manhattan and Brussels, ruminating on recent events in his life as well as his childhood in Nigeria; pondering larger questions of culture, history, and religion; and meeting an assortment of characters along the way. What results is an intelligent meditation on a variety of topics. The work is rich with descriptive detail but devoid of deep emotional impact. Whether the lack of emotional impact is intentional or not, it doesn't help that Kevin Mambo's narration is too slow and ponderous, lulling the listener through the weighty subject matter. A bit more animation in his performance would have been more engaging. S.E.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Starred review from November 1, 2010
Possibly the only negative thing to say about Cole's intelligent and panoramic first novel is that it is a more generous account of the recent past than the era deserves. America's standing in the world is never far from the restless thoughts of psychiatry resident Julius, a Nigerian immigrant who wanders Manhattan, pondering everything from Goya and the novels of J.M. Coetzee to the bankruptcy of Tower Records and the rise of the bedbug epidemic. In other words, it is an ongoing reverie in the tradition of W.G. Sebald or Nicholson Baker, but with the welcome interruptions of the friends and strangers Julius meets as he wanders Penn Station, the Upper West Side, and Brussels during a short holiday, and amid discussions of Alexander Hamilton, black identity, and the far left—a truly American novel emerges. Julius pines over a recent ex, mourns the death of a friend, goes to movies, concerts, and museums, but above all he ruminates, and the picture of a mind that emerges in lieu of a plot is fascinating, as it is engaged with the world in a rare and refreshing way.